– Pattaya’s land disaster-relief unit was called at 5:06 a.m. on October 16th to a fire at a Thai restaurant on Chaloem Phrakiat Road on Pattaya 3rd Road.
– Flames were found burning in the restaurant’s electrical control room, along with heavy smoke. Firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly with water.
– A nearby resident, Tewin Chuean, 36, said he heard a loud bang like a transformer exploding, then shouts of fire.
– No one was injured. Officers suspect an electrical short circuit; Chonburi forensic staff will confirm the cause.
Pattaya: A fire broke out in the electrical control room of a Thai restaurant in Pattaya off of Third Road early Friday morning after a loud bang that a witness compared to a transformer exploding. No one was hurt.
The radio center of Pattaya’s land disaster-relief unit received the call at 5:06 a.m. on October 16th. The restaurant stands on Chaloem Phrakiat Road, Pattaya 3rd Road. Firefighters and rescue volunteers responded. A crowd of residents and tourists had gathered outside.
Crews found flames in the electrical control room and thick smoke rising over the area. Water tenders put the fire out in a short time. The room and its contents were damaged. The point of origin was the electrical control room.
Tewin Chuean, 36, who was in a nearby room, said he heard a loud explosion like a transformer blowing. He did not see flames at first and went back inside. Minutes later he heard people shouting that there was a fire and ran out. He said he was relieved that officers arrived and contained it quickly.
Firefighters’ preliminary view is that an electrical short circuit started the blaze. There were no reports of injury or death. Police photographed the scene and called Chonburi provincial forensic officers to determine the exact cause.
Electrical fires from short circuits or overloaded equipment are a recurring issue in Pattaya’s commercial buildings and older wiring. Earlier this month a woman fled a smoke-filled third-floor room in Soi Krom Tee Din after a fire that officers also linked to a short circuit at a plugged-in charger; she was unhurt and the blaze was out within minutes.